Title

Pension privatisation in Greater China : institutional patterns and policy outcomes

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

International Journal of Social Welfare

Publication Date

10-1-2012

Volume

21

First Page

S30

Last Page

S45

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Keywords

pension privatisation, institutional account, institutional change, welfare reform, Greater China

Abstract

This article examines rationales and processes for pension privatisation in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China since the 1990s. It argues that the configurations of the public/private pension mix in the three cases are related to their respective political-economic development. To achieve the reform of state-owned enterprises and labour markets, mainland China's pension reforms have concentrated on the combination of social pooling and individual accounts. Taiwan's reforms have rectified the Labour Insurance scheme and established individual accounts in order to alleviate enterprises' financial burdens while facilitating labour force mobility. Hong Kong has strengthened its service industry in favour of financial market fluidity, corresponding to a pro-market approach that prefers mandatory provident funds as the major pension scheme for workers. The diversification of pension privatisation manifests manifold institutional changes of old-age security, and raises an essential governance issue for the regulation of funded pension provision to ensure adequate income for older people.

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-2397.2012.00875.x

Print ISSN

13696866

E-ISSN

14682397

Publisher Statement

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Shi, S.-J., & Mok, K.-H. (2012). Pension privatisation in Greater China: Institutional patterns and policy outcomes. International Journal of Social Welfare, 21, S30-S45. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2397.2012.00875.x

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